Gratitude Worksheet

In the spirit of Thanksgiving Day- check out this worksheet about Gratitude!

Gratitude Worksheet

Your Relationship Determines How you Feel Toward God

Check out this link from CNN about how your relationship might determine how you feel towards God.

Written by Liberty University's own: Tim Clinton and Joshua Straub.

Get Rid of Emotional Junk!

How much baggage do you carry around with you? If you could put all your emotional pains, relational hurts, and self-esteem or boundary issues in a bag- would it be heavy?

Do you think hauling all that junk around effects those around you? What about in your relationships- your marriage, parenting, dating, friendship...

Most of the time we unknowingly carry around these hurts and pains from memory lane. Other times, we simply need an "update" in our Recycle Bin of recent events. No matter the situation, we DO carry baggage. What would happen if you dropped it?

Maybe feeling like you need a resource?

Georgia Shaffer is a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania and a certified life coach with over 19 years of experience. Georgia's new book, "Taking out your emotional trash: Face your feelings and build healthy relationships" is flying off the shelves! With permission from the Georgia, who would like to take a quiz to see if you need to "Dump Your Junk?!"

Here's the link to Georgia's site which includes her book information. Check it out, and take the quiz! http://www.GeorgiaShaffer.com

Falling in love with Fall...

When I was a little girl, I can remember making "leaf forts" with the leaves that our parents "let" us rake. My twin brother and I would make a skeleton out of bark, limbs, anything we could find and then stuff these colorful, crispy leaves into the structure. Believe it or not, these forts were pretty strong and actually really awesome. I can remember laying inside of one of our forts gazing up through the bright leaves into the crisp blue chilled sky. What a memory! I love fall. I love the memories it evokes.

I have had the blessed opportunity to experience the Fall Season twice. I was in upstate New York in early October where the leaves were on fire with brilliance. This week, here in good 'ole North Carolina, the trees are so beautiful and bright- they are literally distracting. I can't really drive as well as I ought because I'm focused on such beautiful, clear colors.

Someone told me the amazing chemistry behind the changing of leaves- something about the how the glucose in the leaves gets trapped when the photosynthesis stops (the signal of winter: shorter days and light). The trees "know" when to stop chemical exchange, thus leading to the changing of colors and eventually they fall off. Awesome, huh?

This season, like every other, seems so short- like it had just begun a couple days ago. Yet in a couple of weeks, these trees around me will become bare bones, exposing their skeletons to all. I could say the usual "life is short, like the seasons so enjoy it while you have it" kind of thing; I'm feeling more pulled to say simply that our earth is beautiful. Still cheesy, yet it's what I have been thinking every day when I see these colors.

The things God created, what they do, what they look like in these short seasons- are simply BEAUTIFUL.

A Gift for Today

October 6: Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

"Be willing to follow wherever I lead. Follow Me wholeheartedly, with glad anticipation quickening your pace. Though you don't know what lies ahead, I know; and that is enough! Some of My richest blessings are just around the bend: out of sign, but nonetheless very real. To receive these gifts, you must walk by faith- not by sight. This doesn't mean closing your eyes to what is all around you. It means subordinating the visible world to the invisible Shepherd of your soul.

Sometimes I lead you up a high mountain with only My hand to support you. The higher you climb, the more spectacular the view becomes; also, the more keenly you sense your separation from the world with all its problems. This frees you to experience exuberantly the joyous reality of My Presence. Give yourself fully to these Glory-moments, awash in dazzling Light. I will eventually lead you down the mountain, back into community with others. Let My Light continue to shine within you as you walk among people again."

-2 Corinthians 5:7

-Psalm 96:6

-John 8:12

-Psalm 36:9

There Once Was A Gull...

I kept wondering why most of the sea gulls had only one leg: a stump very much like a pirates wooden leg. I watched for days as these gulls would hobble along the beach, trying to balance their barrel of a body on only one full foot. Their stump would try to find a shift in the dunes just at the right place in order to create balance. These gulls couldn't even run for the take off. They somehow had adapted to simply lifting their wings and taking off from their stance.

On one of the last days at the beach, I sat watching in horror as a gull landed with both feet tangled together in fishing wire. It must have been fairly recent. He could barely walk, hobbling with little leverage. I ran back with bread to try to lure him so I could break his chains. I saw what would come of him: losing at least one of his legs. Only I could save him with the proper intervention. I couldn't do anything for the seagull and I felt horrible, sad, and powerless.

Sometimes we don't even see the fishing wire that we've naturally wrapped around our spiritual legs. Sometimes we don't even feel the effect of our slowness, our prison. What a sorry sight we must be sometimes- barely getting by with years of guilty and innocent wire impeding our forward motion. We naturally throw ourselves in traps. Sometimes we do it because the rest of the flock leads us there, sometimes because we're simply stupid.

Only Jesus can cut the bonds of your sins. Imagine the freedom!!!!! Imagine the ability to fly with both legs free. What if we quite being skeptical and fearful of His help- what if we simply surrendered to it? I ask many questions because I want you to imagine things from a different perspective. Of course it's hard to imagine a life without chains if that's all you've known.

Don't turn away.

Vegetate

Sometimes, I get home and simply vegetate. I don't watch TV, I don't get on the computer. No reading, no writing. I simply pause. What's wrong with this picture?

Nothing! After day after day of tasks and busywork, taking an hour to stop everything is OK. Is this considered laziness? Absolutely not. Laziness conjures images of

procrastination and avoidance. For us TYPE A personality folks, vegetating for a brief time period is actually recommended. This creates mental space in your brain, physical healing in your body, and a "re-balancing" effect on your perspective.

When you vegetate, try not to start creating lists- the point of pausing is to STOP thinking about tasks left undone. The point is to find this empty space (it's somewhere deep down in there). What might you find? A moment of peace? Hmm....

The perfect example: my dog Indiana Jones. He's "full steam ahead" during the day- running after squirrels, trying to climb trees, swimming in the baby pool, and generally doing his "doggy" stuff. He's a busy boy- something is always happening. But every now and again something strange happens: He goes on "Screen Saver Mode." His neck literally drops while he's standing- his eyes focused on something far away. He could stay like this for up to 5 minutes. He is pausing. Resting his neck. (this has nothing to do with him being a bird dog- although he does "point").

Some of you may have no trouble with taking 10 minutes to look into the deep space galaxy of the ceiling. Some of you may have no quarrels with veggin' out on the sofa in your living room (dubbed "The Barge"). This message is for those of us who do:

Allow yourself.

Even the Energizer Bunny takes a breather..